Just as a glimmer of hope seemingly returned to Canada’s capital, the Ottawa Senators once again collapsed.
Carrying a 3-0 lead late in the second period over the Nashville Predators, the Senators saw the home squad bury five consecutive goals to put an end to Ottawa’s five-game point streak (3-0-2).
Now, Ottawa faces the tall task of getting back on track against the powerhouse Carolina Hurricanes in the first half of a difficult home back-to-back starting on Saturday.
“We didn’t play well enough to win for 60 minutes,” Senators coach Travis Green told media following Thursday’s loss. “I liked our first period. Took way too many penalties, especially in the third. Uncharacteristic of us to not get at least a point in a game like this. I didn’t think we had enough players that played a strong enough game for 60 minutes.”
Stephen Halliday opened the scoring with the rookie’s first NHL goal, and Ridly Greig and captain Brady Tkachuk followed that up with goals of their own before the barrage of Predators tallies.
Ottawa’s captain has been on fire of late, collecting four goals and four assists during his active five-game point streak.
James Reimer made 21 saves between the pipes in his third start for the Senators as life without Linus Ullmark continued, with the former Vezina trophy-winning netminder sidelined since Dec. 28 after taking a personal leave of absence. He returned to practice on Friday, according to reports.
“It doesn’t feel good right now,” forward Dylan Cozens said following the loss. “That was a big game for us, one we needed to get points out of. … We gotta turn the page. We’ve been playing some good hockey, and there’s a lot of games coming up.”
The Senators’ upcoming opponents won’t make it any easier for the squandering squad. After Saturday’s clash with Hurricanes, Ottawa will play host to the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday before squaring up against the league-leading Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday.
The Hurricanes will be eyeing their own chance to bounce back after they fell to the visiting Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 in a shootout on Thursday.
Carolina had come into the contest with three consecutive regulation victories to its name before the Hurricanes were bested in the sixth round of the shootout.
Joel Nystrom tallied his first career goal, while Jordan Staal and Jackson Blake both also scored in the losing effort.
“I’m happy to get my first goal. I’ve been waiting for it,” Nystrom said after finding the back of the net in his 36th NHL game.
“He’s had a ton of opportunities just like that, so it was nice to see him finally get one,” Carolina coach Rob Brind’Amour said of his rookie defenseman. “Obviously, it was a big goal at the time.”
The Hurricanes’ top dogs all struggled to find the scoresheet in Thursday’s loss. Both Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis were held pointless after each carrying three-game point streaks into the clash.
The Senators have won both of the previous two meetings by a combined score of 10-5 last season, but this will be the first of three matchups this season between the teams.
–Field Level Media
